Serial Port Setup dialog box
Serial line communication with external devices is important for the TV80 system. Use the Serial Port Setup dialog box to define the communication parameters for serial line ports. These ports are typically used for serial communication with gear monitoring sensors or peripheral systems. The communication between the TV80 system and peripheral devices takes place using "datagrams". For most commercial devices, the formats of the datagrams are defined by NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association).
How to open
To open the Serial Port Setup dialog box, select a serial port on the I/O Setup page.
The I/O Setup page is located in the Installation dialog box. The Installation dialog box is located on the Setup menu.
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Description
A serial port is a serial communication interface that is still very common between maritime systems. It is very important that any serial line between the TV80 system and any external system is setup correctly with identical parameters at each end. The NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association) standard for serial communication defines standard parameters for such interfaces.
According to their web site, the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) is "the unifying force behind the entire marine electronics industry, bringing together all aspects of the industry for the betterment of all in our business". For more information, see: http://www.nmea.org
Details
COM Port
This text box identifies the current communication port on the Processor Unit. You can not change this information.
Name
This is a text box. Type a suitable name for the communication port.
Data Bits
Use this function to specify the number of data bits for serial communication. The standard number of data bits defined for NMEA serial line communication is 8 (eight).
Device
Shows the current device you are setting up.
Format
In order to integrate with external equipment (like chart plotters or winch control systems) you can select the output format that better suits your current sensor configuration.
Select COM
Select an available port from the list.
Note
This option is only available if you have selected Output Data.
Remove
Once the TV80 has identified and listed all the available serial and LAN ports on the Processor Unit, these can not be used by any other software applications.If the TV80 does not need a specific port, it can be released for other use.
Select this button to delete the chosen port. No acknowledgement is required, the port is removed instantly.